Hay-loader.



' 0. 'E'. SMITH.

HAY LOADER. APPLICATION FILED .ULY 22, 1911.v

Patented Feb. 25, 1913'.

. F. SMITH.

HAY LOADER. APPLIUATION FILED JULY 22, ,1911,

Patented Feb. 25, 1913.

4 SHEETS*SHBET 2.

o. F. SMITH.

y HAY LOADER. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 22, 1911.

Patented M1125. 1913.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

0. F. SMITH.

HAY LOADER.

APPLICATION FILED JULY z2, 1911. f

1,054,322, 1 Patented Feb. 25, 1913;

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

TINTTFD STATES PATEN T OFFICE.

ORBIN' F. SMITH, OF MOLINE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MOLINE PLOW COMPANY, A. CORPORATION OF lILLINOIS.

HAY-LOADER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 25,1913.

Application led July 22, 1911. Serial No. 639,887.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, OnmN F. Sil'rrn, a citizenof the United States, residing at Moline, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useit'ul Improvements in Hay-Loaders, of which the follt'iwing is a.v specification, ret'- erence being had therein to the acconmanying drawing.

This invention relates to hay loaders oit the type embodying a wheeled trame equipped with reciprocating rake bars driven from the ground wheels in such manner tl1at,as the machine drawn over the Held in rear of a wagon, the hay will be gathered and elevated by the rake bars and discharged into the wagon.

In hay loaders ot this type it is common to arrange the rake bars in groups, and tooperate them alternately by rotary means, such as cranks and the like, deriving their power from the ground wheels, and in order that. the rake bars may be given the proper motion'to effectively perform their raking and elevating functions, various devices have been employed to translateaor modify the motion imparted by the driving means, suoli devices cooperating .with the respective groups of bars and causing them to pursue, in their reciprocating motions. a path ot travel most, effective for gathering and elevating the hay.

The present invention consists primarily ot 'iinprovctfl devices tor thus translating or modifyingthe motion imparted to the rake bars by the driving` means, such improved devices being characterized Irv the support ot' the resi'iectivc groups ot harsI near their lower ends on swinging t'ulcra in such manner that the rotary driving motion limparted by the ground wheels, will cause the rake bars to act in a rectilinear line in their raking strokes, so as to properly galilei' the hay, and at. the completion ot' said stroke the rake bars will rise 'or litt so as to deliver the gathered hay onto the elevator bottom, where it will be subject to the elevating nction ot the bars.

'lhe invention consists also ot various 'improved AFeatures ot construction in the general organization, which 'features will be t'ully described in the specification and the novel parts pointed out in the claims.

In the accortipartyingr drawings: Figure 1 is a side elevation of a hay loader with my invention embodied therein. Fig. 2

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional elevation from front to' rear. Fig. 4 is a transverse section on the line a-a of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a perspective view on an enlarged scale of the swinging supporting means for the two groups of rake bars. Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are diagrammatic views showing the action of the rake bar supporting means in controlling the path of movementot the rake bars.

The frame of my improved machine comprises two triangular.' trame sections lul, each comprising a bottom frame bar 2, a ttront upwardly inclined bar 3, and a rear inclined bar 4. At their rear lower corners these triangular t'rame sections are connected tixcdly and firmly together by a horizontial transverse bar 5, while at their forward lower corners the triangular frameI sections are provided with bearings (3--6 in which is mounted an axle 7 having .suitable ground wheels 8-8 clutched thereto as usual, so that the wheels will turn with the axle when the machine advances, but will move idly on the axle when the machine is backed.

The wheeled 'trame thus constructed is provided with an inclined slatted bottom 8, consisting ot a series ot parallel longitudinally extending slats, connected together at intervals by cross bars, which slatted bottom is so mounted on and sustained by the wheeled trame that the former may/yield dowiiwardly as a whole with reference to the trame. To provide, for this yielding support ot the bottom, the latter is connected at its lower end to spring arms 1)-9 coiled around the bar 5 and fixed aty their ends to the side bars Q---Q respectively. At its upper end the slattcd bottoni is hung 'from the side bars l ot the t'riz'ingular -trame sections, by` means ot suspension springs tti-10, which springs are connected at their upper ends to the respective trame bars 4. and at' their lower ends to the slatted bottom on opposite sides ot the same. The purpose ot this construction is to prevent injury to the rake bars in thc'event ot the hay becoming clogged between the bars and slatted bottom, the yielding support' for the bottom permitting the same to give, and thereby relieving the rake bars of strain.

Overlying the slatted bottom are a series ot' rake bars arranged in two groups 'tt and l2, so as to act alternately, the rake bars bealluded to, are connected together near their lower ends by a transverse more-fully described hereinafter.

ing provided as usual with gathering teeth 13 at ltheir lower ends, and with elevating teeth lji arrangedat. intervals on the under side of the bars throughout their length, and adapted in theA reciprocation of the bars to cooperate with the Lslatted bottom in elevating the hay.

The rake bars 11a of the group 11 are connected together at their lower ends by means of a transverse arched connect-ing bar 15 provided at intervals with iixed hanger bars 15 pivoted at. their lower ends to' the respective Vrake bars 11a, the said arched connecting bar being connected at its ends to the rear ends of operating levers 16-16 respectively, arranged on opposite sides of the machine and by which levers a reciprocating motion is imparted to the group lll-of rake bars in a manner to be more fully described hereinafter. Near their upper ends 'the rake bars 11u are connected together by a transverse tie-rod 17 fixed at its ends to longi tudinally extending bars 18-18 respectivelyf which bars extend= downwardly at the oppositeV sides ofthe frame and have' ltheir lower ends jointed to the rear ends o f the operating levers 'i6-16 before alludedthe group .of rake bars to. By this means whole by power applied will be'inoved as ra by the operating levers .to both'the upper and, lower ends of the group. Thel group of connected bars are guided and supported att-heir upper ends by rails 19e-19 l extending longitudinally along and spaced from the inner sides of the two bars 1818, which rails, as the group of'bars are reciprocated, travel on and are supported by friptioii rolls Q10-.20 mounted. on-` standards 21-#21 eX- tending-upwardly from the frame bars lf-4 respectively.-

The rake bars 12;L of the group 12 'before connecting bar QQ having-` brackets 23,l 23a, therefrom, whichvbracketsfare fixed at their lower ends tothe respective rake lbars of the group; Arms'L'LiQ-Q-ft areiXedrigidly at their'- upper endsto the ends ofx the bar 22 and" are" extended downwardly and ontrwardly in opposite directions and havevtheir eratin'g levers 25e-25 respectively, on4 opposite sides of the machine', and by 'which means a reciprocatingmotion'is i1nl bars `in a manner 'off-bars? 12a' of a transparted-v, tov this y' group t of tthe yupper ends the group are connected. together l by means vere'tie-rod 26,.andthe bars are two vlcnigitudinal rails friction-rolls-f niennted-on the inner ,sides offthje standardsl before alluded to. A

etc.,- depending-r of rake bars 111,

supportedn and guidedf at thenpp'er'ends' by means of;

QL-fi-Xed to and .extending parallelwith rheouter--rake'bars of inasmuch' as the operating levers for the two groups of rake bars and the means of actuating said levers, are the same on both sides of the machine, a description .of one set will suiice.'

The operating levers 1G and 25 before alluded to extend 4side by side, and have their. forw'ardends. jointed to diametrically opposed cranks 29 and 30 respectively, fixed to the axle 7, so that by the rotation of the 'cranks the operating levers will be reciprocated lalternately in opposite directions' and will impart motion to the groups of rake bars.

l Between' itsends the operating lever 1G 1s mounted to rock on a stud 31i projecting outwardly horizontally from the lower endof a vibrating hanger 32, the upper end oit .which is formed with two horizontal out wardlyV projecting hollow studs 3333, in which are loosely niountedtlie upper outwardly turned ends Sat-Set of links;`35-35. The lower ends of these links are extended laterally horizontally as at'ia and mounted loosely in bearing openings 3(3436 formed in the. opposite ends o-f a. bracket plate 37 at its outer side, which bracket plate is fixed to the bottom frame bar 2. The relation of the lever 16 to its driving crank Q9, the links 35-35, andthe vibrating hanger 32,

;is such that when the rake bars 11, operated by this mechanism, are at the beginning of their raking stroke, the crank 29 and the links 35)*35 will be in parallelism, and

,will form ineffect a parallel motion controlling the lever 16, the crank 29, and the links 35-35 inclining rearwardly and upwardly slightly,-and the hanger l32' being inclined to the rear as shown in lFig. G. When now the ground wheel is turned in the direction of the arrow as the machine advances,thecrank'()A will move upwardly `and fo-rwar'dlyQ-thereby drawing the lever 16 the links endwisev in 'a forward direction, 35e-35 in this movement swinging upwardly toward an uprightposition and'maiiitaining their parallelism with the crank] 'During such forwardy Inov'ern'nity of the parts and while the-substantial parallelism'of the links, .35;aidcrank 30l ismain'taine'd, there will befno' 'fulcruxningf action ofthe lever on Vitshangerg lh encfetlier parts connected vwith the'y rear;-` end ofthe `lever,- thatJ vis the vgroup [will be drawn forward horizontallyJ with the resultl that the rake teeth on the lower.l ends of thel bars will move forward in a' straight horizontal line. This movement .1.will continue until the crank y*reaches a point in its revo-lutioii wherev it `,passes down on the side of thewheelopposite where it started, and where it will cease to be in parallelism with thev links the latter havinglreached thelimit of their forafter being swung forward When this stage of the-opward movement with the'crank.

eration isyreached, theraketeeth `will have ioo iio

completed their forward horizontal raking' Stroke, and the continued downwarr't movement of the crank (and as the latter passes Center) will rock the forward end of the lever down on the fulcrum 3l and raise its rear end, with the result that the rake hars Will be raised at. the end of the raking' stroke, and will in this raising action deliver the gathered hay tio the slatted bottoni. ln the further movement of the crank, the lever .16 Will. be pushed endwise bodily to the rear, in which action the links 255 will swing' to the rear and toward an upright position,

4thereby' bodily lifting the lulcrum on which 'the lever supported, with the result that the rake bars will be carried to the rca r in a downwardly curved patti. As tho cra nk now continues, to complete its rotation, and as the links in this motion reach the limit ol their .rearward swing, the crank will pass eenterin its opposite position, thereby lit'ting the forward end ol' the lever and depressing' its rear end, with the result that the rake'. bars will bc lowered to their starting: point, shown in Fig. VIt issecn, thcrctore, that by the peculiar arrangemcnt and construction ot the links, and vibrating` hanger, by which the lever is supported, i

Sii

circular rotation of the crank is converted into a motion ot.E the rakeliars most ctt'cct t'or the rakinI and elevating actions. tl said bars moving torward in their 'zitting stroke .in a straight horixontal line, then ris' ing; suddenly in a forward direction to dcliver the gathered hay to the .slatted bottom. and 'then continuing to rise and moving to the .rear in a curved path and tinatty nun ingdownwardly tothe pointy otlv beginning. The .lever Q5 tor the other tgroup ot rake bars l2 is connected and operated in pre-- cisely the same manner to its crank and supporting1 hanger and links, the onlyY dittcrc-rnr c being;` that the parts are so related that the actions oit' the two groups ot rake bars; ill alternate with each other, one group moving,` forwardly as the other retreats. 'l`lu' .lever 2.3 mounted between its rndI on a stud projectingy inwardly `trom the lower end of a vibrating' hanger llt), the upper end of which is provided with two inwardly 'projecting horizontal hollow studs lt) l0 in which are loosely mounted thil upper iniv'ardly turned ends ot links -lltl.. '.l`hc lower ends-o 'l these links are extcndcd hori-4 :ffzonialty inwardly and mounted loosely in horirc-'intal bearing;` openings #t2-l2 in thc opprsitc ends o't' thc bracket plate 3T bc'l'ore alluded to.` at thc inner side o't said platt'.

will tio remembered that the arched conucraino bar lf) for the `L'roup ot rake bars ll.'Vl `was described as heilig` pivoted, by means it vthe depending hangers l5, to the respecarched bar may be lnaiiitained in an npriglit position and prevented trom 1nterfertive bars ot the group, and in order that'. this ing' with the connectingl bar 22 lor the other group of rake bars, as the two groups are rceiprocated in opposite directions, t councct the arched bar l5' with the Ytraino liars t of the machine by means ol `forwardly e5;- tendingr links 4-2"---l2, onc on each side ol the machine, which links are pivotcd at their rear ends to arms 4?-425 extending upwardly from the arched bar 1.3 nar its ends, and are pivotcd at' their l'orward endsl to the side liars -l-l olf the frame. s a result ot this arrangement, when the group,

ot bars l1 are movcd 'forwardly in thc raking action. thc arched bar will be hold to the rcar b v the connecting' linksl so that the connectingy bar vtor the other group ot rake bars will he permitted to make its `l'ntt backward .stroke as saitlrakt` bars` move to thc rear, and therey will be no interference be twccn said connecting' bars.

At' thc lower rcar corners of the wheeled trame, there are provided two,supporting shoes #tt-'11, one on each side, which shoes l ar upon the surt'ace ot the Ae'round as the machine advances` and determine the :inguw lar relation oll ttal t'ramc as a whole to thc horizontal. Cach cl" these shoes is in the term ot a ltat plate containiimY an in nvardly inclined portion Ltl and a horizontal rearwai-dtv inclined portion 4st, the upwardly inclined portion being' sliding'ly mounted on the rear extremities of the two trame hars 2 and t respectively, by which construction thc slices may be inovcd up and down on the extrcmitics otI the trame bars. 'lhe purpose o'tt this movement olf4 the shoes is to vary the distance between the lower end oit the t' 'amc and the surtace ot the ground` so that the proper and oll'ective relation between the rake bar teeth in their forward raking' stroke` and the surface of the ground may he preserved. Y:llach olE thc movable slices is adjusted and held in its adjusted position bv means ol a hand lever l5 pivotcd at its lower cud to a bracket plate tti liXed to the sidc bar t o't thc l'ram'e and havinLr jointed to it thc torward end ol a link l? whose rear cnd is liointcd to thc sliding' shoe it. 'lhc lever is provided with a locking` latch Lt8 co operating' with a toothed segment ttl lixcd to thc trainc bar, by which meansl the lever may bc hcld in its ditlerent positions ofA adjustment.

l'n the foregoing' description and in thc accom]ianyingdrawings l have disclosed my invention in the specilic ll'orm l prel'cr to adopt` but it is manifest that as far as the invention in its brcadc aspects is concerned, thc details and specitie means shown may bo variously changed and modified, witluzut departinrI trom thc limits of my invention-m and it to be lunderstood that the invention is not limited to an)y particular form or details of the parts except in so faltas such limitations are specified in the claims.

and operativelyconnected with said levers.`

tively connected a guiding support for the leve'r, said support comprising parts jointed together pivoted respectively to the frame and to'the operating lever.

3. In a hay loader, the combination of an elevator frame, raking devices above the saine, reciprocating operating levers 'opera-i with the raking devices, supportingdevices pivoted to the trame, and hangers carried by the supporting'devices 4. In a hay loader, the combination of an elevator 't1-aine', raking devices abo-ve the same, reciprocating operating levers voperatiif'elyrconnected with the raking devices,

supporting devices pivoted to the frameg'and members pivoted to the. supporting devices and operatively connected with the levers.

In a hay loader, the combination of an. elevator frame, raking .devices above' thev sani-e, reciprocating operating levers operatively connected with the raking devices, support-ing devices pivotedto the trame, and means connecting the levers with said supporting devices at points abdve the piv 'otal connection of* said supporting devices with the frame 6'. In a hay loader, the combination of an elevator frame, rakingdeviees above fthe.,

same, reciprocating operatinglevers operatively connected with the raking devices, supporti-ng devices pivoted to the frame below the levers and extending upwardly, and

depending hangers pivoted to the support-- ing` Adevices and vloperatively connected with the said levers. l I

7.. In ahay loader, the combination of an elevator frame, raking devices abovethe saine, reciprocatingoperating levers operatively connected withf the raking devices,

supporting ldevices pivoted to the'fra'me and extending upwardly, and hangers pivoted at their upper ends to the upper ends of the supporting devices and pivotally connectedn at their lower ends tov the'levcrs respectively'.

. 8. In a hay loader, the'colnbination of an elevator frame,. raking devices above the same, a reciprocating operating lever operatively connected with the raking devices, and a plurality'of supporting links pivoted to the frame and extending upwardly and having operativeconnection withv said lever.

9. In a hay' loader, the cpmbination of an elevator frame, raking devices above he same, a reciprocating operating ever o er atively connected with the raking devices, two links pivoted at their lower ends to the frame and extending upwardly',l 'and a hanger pivoted tothe links and connected with the lever.-

10. In a hay loader,l the combination of A`an elevator frame, rakingfdevices above the same, a reciprocating operating lever operatively connected ,wlth the raking devices, two links pivoted to the frame' ,and extend- 'ing upwardly therefrom, a hanger pivoted vto the upper4 ends of the links and extend-A ing downwardly and pivotally connected atv itslower end with the lever.

11.`In a hay loader, the combination of anelevator frame, raking devices thereover,

a driving crank, an operating lever con.

nected therewith and connected also with the raking deyices, a plurality of links pivoted to the frame to swing back and forth as the crank is rotated, and a member pivot-- 'ally supporting said lever from the links. l2. In a hay equipped with rakingdevices and having a stift bottom movably supported vvby the jframe and yieldable as a whole with refer-r ence to the frame.

18. In a hay loader, anvelevator frame equipped with raking devices and provided loader, an elevator frame with a stift bottom' yieldable .as a whole withreference to the frame.

A 14. In Aa hay loader,

an lelevator frame, a serles of longitudinally extending rake bars thereover,

respectively connected, an upper transverse -bar to which said rake bars are also respectively connected, reciprocating operating levers jointed at their rear ends to the lower transverse bar, longitudinally extending bars jointed at their rear ends to therear ends of the reciprocating levers andjointed at their upper ends to the yupper transverse bar, said last named bars baving'lguiding surfaces, and fixed guides carried by the Iframe, with'which guidessaid guiding sur faces cooperate, andzbbwhich theiongiitudi.-

nal bars are guided and supported.

yIn testimony whereot1 I have aiiixed my signature 1n presencof two witnesses:

on'env rist/11TH.'

Witnesses I AMY OLSEN, E. K. LovEnUni a lower. transverse bar, to .which Said rake bars are the combination of 

